


Count Mistakes

by tinasnewt



Series: A Complicated Perception [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Kiss, Miscommunication, tina meets leta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 17:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15976859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinasnewt/pseuds/tinasnewt
Summary: Newt introduces Tina to Leta, and it begins an... interesting conversation.





	Count Mistakes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I promise I haven’t PURPOSEFULLY gone m.i.a, school has just gotten extremely busy and I haven’t found the time to write. This is a little ficlet I’ve been working on for a little over a year now... Enjoy!

Briefcase in hand, Tina walked down the roads of London. She was new to the city, however excitement contained her. She was finally going to see Newt again, and instead of him residing in her home, she'd be residing in his. Tina would never admit to it, but she secretly hoped Newt didn't live with a sibling, like she did with Queenie. Her brisk steps echoed on the pavement, and a bell jingled as she opened the door to the bookstore, planning on perusing the stacks of books before continuing her walk to his apartment. Rows and rows of shelves were filled with books, and the store carried a heavy aroma of fresh parchment and ink. A few people buzzed about, hasty but quiet. Tina smiled to herself when she saw a bright red, leather bound book on display in the middle of the shop. It was none other than Newt's debut manuscript, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. There was a clever sign the shape of a pointing hand that read 'First years this way! Collect your copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and get a second textbook for three Knuts!' Tina had hoped Newt would remember his promise to deliver her her own copy in person, but as the months passed she grew weary. It was a surprise he was even inviting her to stay with him, though Tina guessed it was only polite of him to do so. After all, she was stationed to go to Paris, but there had been a rising issue with noncompliant aurors in London so Tina was forced to make a pitstop. 

+

She was admiring the book he had written, but her intention was just to flip through the pages and marvel at the carefully crafted illustrations. He’d been watching her ever since she’d walked in, stealing quick glances at her before looking away hastily, returning to the novel he was reading. The words seemed jumbled up and didn’t make sense to him- all he could think about was the girl in the white and blue dress that carried herself with apt confidence, yet seemed small in the grand scheme of things. A smile crept on his face when he saw her stop at the display with his book, her delicate hands flipping through the pages with adept gracefulness. He pushed back in his chair, carefully stuffing a pencil to mark his page. Doggy earring the pages was always an option, but he preferred not to “deface the work of geniuses.” Newt stood up and walked toward Tina, who was still quietly examining the book. 

“I see you’ve found my book,” he said behind her, his tone amused. Tina jumped, nearly dropping the copy she was holding, but when she turned around she was relieved and a bit elated to find Newt standing in front of her. Newt… he looked just as he did in the photographs she’d seen of him in The New York Ghost, though entirely different than when she’d met him. His hair was longer, yet still messy, he donned a grey coat in place of his older, blue one, yet his posture remained the same. His collar was turned up instead of down, and Tina couldn’t help but be reminded of how she used to wear her old coat, before she switched to the leather one she wore now. He smiled at her, his eyes shining like the stars in his case. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you in New York, it’s been considered a hassle to get me all the way over there…” She felt a pang in her chest. Was Newt saying it was a hassle to visit her, that she was a hassle? Perhaps Newt was different from what she thought… No. She mustn’t think like that, he only saw her as a friend anyway. And she only saw him as a friend, right? Tina wasn’t one to delve into romantic affairs, especially not ones of her own. Nor the ones of her friends. But as she considered this, she couldn’t help but let her mind slip to the Scamander/Lestrange engagement she’d heard about in the office, and suddenly she felt very, very sullen. Of course… Leta Lestrange, the girl whose picture he carried. Queenie had told Tina all about her. Short, dark-skinned, and far more beautiful than Tina could ever attempt to be (Queenie hadn’t said that, but Tina believed it to be true anyway). Perhaps their encounter on the docks was less than Tina had thought it was. It was no wonder Newt had fallen in love with Leta; though her family history was a dark one, she was breathtakingly beautiful on the inside and out. Just the woman Newt liked. Just the woman Newt deserved. 

As if on cue, someone walked toward them, a coffee in hand. It was undoubtedly Leta. Her hair was short and curled, and she donned a maroon dress… and an extravagant engagement ring. The kind only a rich man, like Newt, would be able to afford. Tina found it very unlike Newt to spend so much money on something as simple as a ring, but she knew that he loved Leta very much, and he didn’t have a strong suit for expressing his feelings. He probably thought the ring was a way for him to prove it, and he was right. Leta smiled at the two, joining Newt’s side. “You must be Tina,” Leta said warmly, her accent thicker than Newt’s, if that was possible. She took Tina’s hand in her own and shook it. Leta’s handshake was firm, not unlike her own. “I’m Leta Lestrange. Newt has told me lots about you and you adventures in New York, though I’m not surprised given you’d gotten quite a scare with his creatures’ escape. It seems you’re an expert auror, though I wouldn’t expect any less from someone who was able to duel Gellert Grindelwald and survive.” Her voice lowered when she said Grindelwald’s name, as if it were a dangerous word. Tina couldn’t blame her; Grindelwald’s forces had been growing stronger and stronger by the day, and there were rumors his allies were roaming around freely, trying to find the word on ministry attempts to find him. It was only a matter of time before she’d be forced to go out into the field and fight them for herself, though for now she was set on finding out the whereabouts of Credence Barebone and keeping him safe from the looming danger. 

Tina nodded at Leta. “Thank you, Newt’s told me a lot about you as well… Congratulations on your engagement,” She said, forcing herself not to grimace as she spoke those words. She smiled at the two, though it lingered a few seconds too long. If saying those words will kill me, so be it. And thank Deliverance Dane, she thought. Anything to get her out of this situation would be a lifesaver. 

Leta smiled and thanked her, then took a look at the large clock that hung on the wall adjacent to them. “Oh, look at the time! Theseus will be waiting for me, I must be headed off. It was great to meet you, Ms. Goldstein. I look forward to working with you and Theseus in the future!” She said, shooting one final, long look at Newt before running off. Tina wondered what Leta meant by working with her and Theseus. Yes, she had had to work with the older Scamander brother in the past, but that was mandatory, and Leta hadn’t been there. Tina figured she was a newly instated auror… Newt had a type.

Tina turned around to face Newt, and he looked fairly uncomfortable. Why was he, above all people, uncomfortable? These were the weeks leading up to the happiest day of his life, yet he was still bothered by the presence of his fiance and friend meeting. Tina was flabbergasted that he would even have the nerve to feel that way. “Leta’s sweet, you’re lucky to have her,” she said quietly, avoiding Newt’s eye. “I can understand why you didn’t want to go to New York, it would… complicate things. With the tabloids and all.”

His gaze lifted then, and he was confused. “How do you mean, ‘complicate?’”

Tina sighed, not really wanting to explain herself. “You know what I mean. You’re engaged, coming back to New York just to give me a copy of your book is too much of a hassle, and if anyone found out… Mercy knows what the journalists would say.” She watched as Newt grew more and more confused, until a sudden bout of realization seemed to strike him. He grew serious and took her arm and disapparated, and then they were standing in an alleyway only a few blocks away from the store. It was dark and smelled of trash, and Tina could have sworn she saw a few rats chase each other down the pavement before scurrying under a trash bin. Before she had the time to lecture him about using magic in front of No-Majs, Newt had opened his case and gone in, beckoning her to follow him. Tina sighed and trailed after him, taking one last look behind her to make sure nobody had noticed their sudden appearance. She stepped on the ladder, wobbling a bit, but before she entered the case something caught her eye. It was a newspaper clipping. The same newspaper clipping that was pinned on the announcements board in the auror’s office at MACUSA. A newspaper clipping that she had been recognized in, and beside it...

There was a picture of her. 

Tina couldn’t help but mouth the words that graced the page. “Reappointed as auror,” she whispered quietly, studying the photograph. Where had Newt gotten the newspaper? More importantly, why was her picture in his case? Tina forced herself to clear her mind of her curiosities as she climbed down the ladder into Newt’s case, where she found him feverishly rearranging papers on his workbench. They were all crumpled up, some of them baring sketches of creatures, others unreadable scribbles. Around the room were jars of liquids and herbs, and a few buckets stacked on top of one another. There were two doors, one leading to the outside area of the case, the other to a room Tina didn’t know about. She supposed it was a resting area or a place for Newt to keep his creatures that had fallen ill. Newt had cast his jacket aside and draped it over the back of a chair. He turned around to face Tina, a small stack of papers in his hand. They all donned similar titles, mentions of the names “Scamander” and “Lestrange,” the word “engagement” plastered on all of them. Tina took them out of Newt’s hands, however she felt more than hurt that he would gift her his engagement announcements. But as she sifted through the pile, his photograph was nowhere to be found. She scoured through every article, searching for a mention of the youngest Scamander, but he wasn’t mentioned in any of them. In fact, the only Scamander appearing on these clippings was Theseus, his older brother. Could it be that she’d been wrong, that it was Theseus who’d proposed to Leta? She looked up to him, finally understanding what he’d meant. “Leta and I are not engaged, Tina,” Newt said, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them when Tina had begun reading an article. “I came home from New York to find myself invited to a party, where my brother… proposed to her. And that was not the reason I didn’t go back to New York. The ministry refuses to let me leave the country, let alone the continent. I wanted to go back but they denied my travel applications. I’ve tried to come in contact with you for a long while, but they’ve intercepted my messages as well. I promise you, Tina, I would never ignore you on purpose. I couldn’t do that to you,” he explained, watching her from the back of the room. Her expression had softened, and any anger she had left for him evaporated into the air. Tina’s mind became a swirling halo of thoughts. He’d truly wanted to come back for her? “I should’ve explained earlier, but seeing you and my book, and then Leta… it distracted me from telling you. I wanted to, Tina, that’s why I brought you down here, to explain that there are no… ulterior motives, persay.” He paused, though Tina didn’t speak, rather choosing to watch him intently. She could hardly think straight; everything he’d just told her contradicted what she’d been thinking of him. For once in her life, she had judged his character wrong. Perhaps he was the Newt she thought he was… “Tina,” Newt said, her gaze matching his. He swallowed. “I couldn’t do that to you. Not now.”

“I wrote to you,” Tina whispered, her eyes glistening with tears. “And I’d always wondered why you hadn’t sent me a letter back.” Newt met her gaze for once and held it for a long time, waiting for her to continue. She sighed. “Every day, I checked the slot where owls drop off mail… and there was nothing there. I thought you’d grown bored with me, or you were angry with me or something. And then I heard about the engagement and I… I judged your character too harshly. I thought that maybe if I discontinued our… friendship that things would be different, that I would be different, but it just hurt more than it should’ve. I should’ve asked instead of assuming, or maybe I should’ve realized you wouldn’t have offered me a place to stay if you were engaged. I’m sorry.”

Their gazes lingered for a long time, taking in what had just been said. Quite frankly, even Tina was having issues processing what she’d just stated. Was it a declaration of some sort? Tina didn’t know. Nor did Newt. Which is why when he walked up to Tina and kissed her, neither of them pulled away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, you have no idea how much it means to me! Kudos and comments are SUPER appreciated. As always, you can find me on tumblr at @/fuckyeahnewtina. Thank you again! <3 :)


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